Donald Trump Just Gave States The Ability To Defund Planned Parenthood
The Republican move will likely make it harder for women to access quality healthcare and family planning services in many states.
Donald Trump on Thursday signed a resolution that gives states the ability to withhold federal family planning funds from Planned Parenthood and other health clinics that offer abortion services.
The new resolution overturns an Obama-era rule that was put in place to prevent states from defunding Planned Parenthood and other healthcare providers for any reason other than the provider’s lack of “ability to deliver services to program beneficiaries in an effective manner.”
So thanks to Donald Trump’s new move states can now withhold federal family planning grants from Planned Parenthood even though federal funding under longstanding practice may not be used for funding abortions.
Republican Senator Susan Collins who voted against the resolution said “If you’re serious about trying to reduce the number of abortions the best way to do that is to make family planning more widely available.”
As CNN notes, “The bulk of federal money Planned Parenthood receives, though, goes toward preventive health care, birth control, pregnancy tests and other women’s health services. Federal law prohibits taxpayer dollars from funding abortions and Planned Parenthood says 3% of the services it provides are abortions.”
